Friday, August 01, 2008

The Nightly News

I just finished reading The Nightly News by Jonathan Hickman and am still processing the book. I caught the second and third issue last summer but fell out of comics before the series finished. Still, when I found a trade paperback, it became an immediate buy. The story is a fascinating look at modern media and how it is used more as a tool of propaganda than a source of truthful information. Plus it has a bit of the old ultra-violence thrown in for good measure. The most overt meaning I gathered from the book was the need to act when you see a serious problem. One of the best lines from the first issue is "When killing activists, never aim for the head, always aim for the heart." The book is a serious call to action when action is needed, not the sham protests of activists who have righteous hearts but little spirit to truly act. I've talked about the self-masturbatory ways of modern protesters before, but Hickman takes the argument to a new level of cynicism and derision. I highly recommend The Nightly News to anyone interested in seeing a brief glimpse behind the scenes of journalism.